The song that Paul Simon wrote about ageing
In 1968, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel released their fourth studio album, Bookends. Alongside many of their esteemed hits like ‘America’ and Mrs Robinson’ sat the poignant Simon tune ‘Old Friends’, as the band sang: “Can you imagine us years from today /Sharing a park bench quietly? /How terribly strange to be 70”.
Getting old, at that point, was nothing but a mere metaphor for the pair: the act of sitting side by side in old age, “silently sharing the same fears”, wasn’t something that needed their immediate concern. However, over 50 years later, Simon finds himself increasingly confronting the reality of such an idea.
The relationship between Simon and his generation is a robust one, but on the subject of ageing and the death of a generation, recent years haven’t been so kind for the singer. That’s not to say there isn’t something bittersweet about it: Simon’s ascendancy paralleled an era teeming with iconic figures like The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and a host of other revolutionary artists.
Even though many of those legacies still endure today, Simon has ben forced to witness the passing of many of his counterparts, like Jeff Beck and Gordon Lightfoot, to name a couple. In his words, “My generation’s time is up”. It’s a sentiment that crosses his mind when discussing how ageing has threaded through his works.
At the same time, the prospect of getting old is something that has haunted Simon throughout his career. In 2000, at the age of 58, Simon released his tenth studio album, You’re the One. The third consecutive song on the album, ‘Old’, was a reflection of his experience with getting older: despite its upbeat and positive rhythm and melody, its lyrics detail Simon’s nostalgic tendencies towards many things he remembers growing up: “The first time I heard ‘Peggy Sue’, I was 12 years old”.
“‘Old’ was a song about people starting to kid you that you’re getting old before you actually are really old,” Simon told Mojo in 2011, “But now I’m actually getting there”. Later, he muses over the idea that ageing is a purely subjective social construct, concluding that it is, in fact, God who gets old, not “us”.
Nothing about Simon’s storytelling appears melancholy, though, not really. It seems relatively tongue-in-cheek as he mocks others’ accusatory comments like “man, you’re old”, coupled with the addition of the fun and fast-paced guitar chords. The track was nominated for a Grammy Award for ‘Album of the Year’ in 2001, marking Simon as the first artist to be nominated in that category across five consecutive decades (1960s – 2000s). Although it became one of Simon’s most praised works, You’re the One was actually widely noted as one of the singer’s most diverse projects with its stripped-back arrangements and masterful fusion of rock, world music, and acoustic elements.
The album, in its entirety, serves as a nostalgic homage, viewed through Simon’s characteristic rosy perspective. His introspective musings are cocooned in an inviting embrace of warmth and allure, just as you would expect. It’s not hard to envision ‘Old’ claiming a place among Simon’s timeless successes.
The immediate grip of its beat invites effortless immersion, crafting an experience that balances intricate complexity with accessible harmony. Perhaps, the primary essence of this song is the juxtaposition of the humour found in growing older against the weight of its associated anxieties, a reminder that the allure of nostalgia often outshines the less enjoyable aspects of ageing.
